Mother Jones magazine on Tumblr

Those are just some of the more than 100 things Barack Obama has declared war on (at least according to hyperventilating bloggers, pundits, and headline writers). He has not declared war on word clouds or 4th of July barbecues…yet!

This should be good. The latest book from MoJo pals Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt.

nickturse:

My new book, Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050 is finally available.  

[…]

Terminator Planet provides a rich history of the last decade of drone warfare, a clear-eyed look at its present, and a far-reaching guide to its future. You used to have to watch science fiction movies to imagine where that future was headed, now you can read Terminator Planet — and know.

View high resolution

Exclusive: Marines Nazi-Flag Whistleblower Comes Forward

In an exclusive interview with MoJo, an Iraq vet — now history professor and expert in Holocaust studies — explains why he exposed Marines’ use of an “SS” flag.

"The idea, in a nutshell, is that when a unit orders, condones, or allows dysfunctional behavior (particularly racist, overly brutal, etc.) in the small things, this can metastasize into much larger violence including war crimes." →

Dr. Waitman Beorn, the Iraq vet and Holocaust studies expert who blew the whistle on Marines’ use of a Nazi SS flag in Afghanistan, explains how poor moral judgment can snowball in a military culture.

View high resolution

The war on Christmas trees. The war on Cheerios. The war on the Constitution. The war on weed. The war on capitalism. The war on poker. The war on human excellence. The war on Texas. These are just a few of the more than 100 wars President Obama is engaged in, at least according to conservative pundits and lazy headline writers. He’s also declared war on the internet, so read the full list before it’s too late.

Marine Video Explainer, Update No. 8: What do the GOP candidates think? So far, not much.

UPDATE 8: Friday, Jan. 13, 1 p.m. EST: Where do the GOP presidential hopefuls stand on the Marine video? There’s no way of knowing, because not one has released a statement on it, and no reporter has yet pressed them for an opinion.

Even though 2008 presidential nominee John McCain said the video “does great damage” and makes him “sad,” and the commandant of the Marine Corps condemned it, and a Medal of Honor recipient said there was no excuse for it, and a bevy of Marines and other combat veterans past and present have said they’re “universally disgusted by it and ashamed,” there’s been nary a word of condemnation—or even acknowledgement—from a GOP 2012 field that has rarely pulled punches in 20 previous debates over a contentious primary season.

The candidates have long attacked President Obama’s anti-terrorism and war strategies and made the case that they can keep America safer, but on this issue they’re eerily silent.

There are three more Republican debates between now and Tuesday, when voters in South Carolina select their preferred candidate; it remains to be seen whether the aspiring commanders-in-chief will address the Marines’ behavior, and its implications for US foreign policy and a culture of respect and dignity.

— Adam Weinstein and Mark Follman answer all your questions on the Marine video.

View high resolution

The world reacts to the video of alleged Marines desecrating corpses in Afghanistan. But none react with the passion of Gawker’s Hamilton Nolan.

Video Surfaces of Marines Allegedly Urinating on Dead Afghans →

Authentic or not, this could further inflame anti-US sentiment and further complicate America’s desired disengagement from Afghanistan.

(Source: Mother Jones)

Early Sunday morning, the last remaining US soldiers at Camp Adder climbed into their MRAPs and Humvees on the base, outside Iraq’s southern city of Nasiriya. Slowly, their convoy of 110 vehicles ambled across the sand, through a gate at the Kuwait border. The last truck passed through just after 4:30 a.m. As the sun began to break over the horizon, a handful of troops pushed the gate closed.

Just like that, it was over…

What next in Iraq? We start to think it out.

The Iraq War Is History

Over the years, MoJo shed light on Bush’s lie factory, the real WMD, shady contractors, war resisters, KBR fraudsters, wounded heroes, and much more. Here’s a look back through nearly a decade of incredible stories.

(Source: Mother Jones)

If you read one “WTF?!” story about the Iraq War today, make it this one:

“Fishin’ Accomplished: Weapons of Bass Destruction”

Meanwhile, over at barackobama.tumblr.com, the president is tumbling testimonies of Iraq vets' families. →

Promise kept, y’all.

Gitmo costs $800,000 per detainee per year. →

Inmates in stateside federal prisons only cost 3 percent of that.

Hey, Congress: Still looking for budget cuts?

View high resolution

We’re Spending More on Nukes Than We Did During the Cold War

Memo to the budget supercommittee: If you’re looking for billions in savings, check out the bloated nuclear weapons complex.

(Source: Mother Jones)

"It is estimated that more than 128,000 nuclear warheads have been built since 1945, all but two percent of them by the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia." →

One of many fascinating facts from a new report warning that, even though world leaders are talking a good line about nuclear disarmament, we could soon face a new atomic arms race.

(Source: Mother Jones)